Rooftop Oddity
by xHandWhistlerx
Summary: Ludwig waits for Mario to arrive and defeat him, but instead Mario's son, Alfredo shows up. They are leery of one another at first, but soon realize that they have many things in common. Rated T for language.


Ludwig sat in his fortress in the clouds, waiting for Mario's inevitable approach. He found it ridiculous that his father still employed him for such things; he was in his early twenties and was trying to leave the nest. However, Bowser made this excessively difficult; it seemed that every time he was ready to leave, he would get pulled into another scheme. He sighed through his nose and continued to nibble at his chicken lo-mien; Junior had been in the mood for Chinese when Ludwig got dropped off. He jumped a bit when he heard a Thwomp crash down nearby.

" Dammit." He cursed half-heartedly. He walked to the edge of the roof and looked down to see a blond haired boy studying the door.

" Uh, hey kid!" Ludwig yelled down to him. " What're you doing?"

The boy looked up in surprise; he couldn't have been more than fifteen. " Ah! You must be Ludwig Von Koopa, right?" He called back.

" No, I'm his grandmother." Ludwig growled back in annoyance. " Go away. I'm waiting for someone."

" Would that someone be Mario?" He yelled knowingly.

Ludwig raised his eyebrows. " Yes, yes it would. Why?"

Now the boy looked confident and stuck out his scrawny chest. " Because I'm his son, Alfredo!"

Now Ludwig howled with laughter and Alfredo wilted. When he had somewhat gained control of himself he yelled down. " _Alfredo!_ What's your sister's name, Marinara?" He then laughed hysterically again.

" I don't have a sister, you nasty koopaling!" Alfredo growled, his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

Ludwig was finally reduced to occasional giggles and wiped the tears from his eyes. " Oh, God, you guys still call us _koopalings?_ That's from when we were like five."

Alfredo crossed his arms. " Well, whatever they call you now, you're still evil. And that means I'm going to defeat you for the Mushroom Kingdom!"

Ludwig sputtered. " Oh, sure. Come on, kid, you look like you weigh 109 pounds. I could snap you in half."

Now Alfredo looked defiant. " I'm stronger than I look. My father trained me well. I know all your weaknesses!"

Ludwig leaned on the rooftop and rested his cheek in his palm. " Uh huh."

" Just wait till I get up there!" He yelled, racing through the door.

" Yeah, yeah, sure. I have all day. Really." And with that he sat on the roof and finished his food. Alfredo burst in as he sucked down the last noodles.

" Where were all your guards?" Alfredo asked, poised for any surprise attacks.

Ludwig furrowed his eyebrows. " Oh. I guess I forgot to give them the signal…ah, well." He tossed the empty carton over his shoulder.

Alfredo looked confused. " My dad told me that you were the cruelest, and the best fighter."

Ludwig looked at the boy tiredly. " Did he? How sweet." He picked at his teeth with his pinky claw.

Alfredo laughed once. " You don't seem like much."

Ludwig wanted to rip the boy to shreds; but instead he merely sighed and slipped off of his perch. " I guess not."

The boy raised his fists again and jumped around slightly. " Well? Fight me."

Ludwig was now thoroughly annoyed and glared at him. " Did it ever occur to you that I'm not in the mood for that right now? Jesus, kid, why are you so eager to get killed anyway?"

Alfredo looked perplexed and he dropped his stance. " What? Not in the mood? And I'm not going to get killed; otherwise my dad wouldn't have sent me."

Ludwig gazed at him through half-closed eyes. " What I mean is, maybe you guys aren't the only ones sick of Bowser's bullshit."

" Uh…okay…" He said.

It was quiet for several awkward moments.

" So, uh…you don't want to fight us anymore?" Alfredo asked tentatively.

" No not really." Ludwig growled, frustrated. " I mean, how would you feel about doing the same shit with the same result for twenty some years? To put it lightly, it gets fucking tedious."

He looked taken aback by the language. " Oh. Yeah, I guess it would…"

Ludwig held his temple in his hand. " Why did your dad send _you_ anyway?"

" Because I'm the next generation! I'll be the next one to defend my kingdom from all of _you_." Alfredo gestured to Ludwig, who sighed.

" Well, you won't have to worry about me. There's no way I'm doing _this_," He waved his hand at the surrounding area. " For the rest of my life. I've got no interest in it." He laughed humorlessly. " I mean, it was fun when we were kids, but I'm just sick of it." He then wondered why he was telling this to the son of his family's arch nemesis.

Alfredo seemed to be wondering the same thing. " Why are you telling me this?"

" Well, I certainly can't tell my family about it. I suppose I've got no one else to talk to."

The boy seemed to slouch slightly. " Well…to tell you the truth…I'm not really thrilled about this, either. I was scared as heck a few minutes ago…dad just taught me how to cover it up." He paused for a moment, then added. " I want to be an artist. I'm really good at painting…and I'm not a bad musician, either."

Ludwig's countenance automatically lit up. " A _musician?_ What do you play?"

" Well…I'm really good at playing guitar, but I can also play the fiddle a little bit." He replied sheepishly, thinking that the koopa would make fun of him.

" That's a good start; I've mastered several instruments, myself. My favorites are the violin and piano."

Alfredo looked shocked. " Really—no, no! You're just tricking me. You'll make fun of me. Just like everyone else."

Ludwig looked empathetic. " Never! Here, I have my violin up here; I'll prove that I'm telling the truth." With that he picked up a violin that was leaning against the far wall and began to play a tune. Alfredo's eyes widened with amazement.

" Okay! I believe you." He gasped in amazement. " I really thought you were lying…"

Ludwig laughed. " Well, it's what we've been known to do." He put down the violin. " My family always made fun of me, too. I was always the softy of the group: all the others were fighters or inventors—well, I can invent some, but music is my first passion. They'd torment me whenever I tried to play. I can't tell you how many instruments were demolished." He shuddered at the thought.

Alfredo nodded. " Well, I'm not really _tormented._ But, my dad doesn't really like what I do. He'd rather me be a fighter. No one really appreciates my art."

Ludwig could have kissed him. " Exactly! There's no appreciation for artists like us!" They were both taken aback by the sudden kinship that had sparked between them. They were supposed to be mortal enemies, after all. They stared at one another for a while, trying to figure it out.

Alfredo had a wry smile on his face. " Do you have a guitar?"

Ludwig nodded and went into another room on the roof; he reemerged with an acoustic guitar. Alfredo took it and positioned his hands. Ludwig readied the violin. And they began to play. They bounced notes off of one another, each following the other's lead. The notes rose and fell and rose again and they stared straight into one another's eyes as they went, reading expression to figure out what would happen next.

Then they stopped; the connection broke. They looked at one another curiously, trying to decipher what had just happened.

Ludwig lowered his violin. " Well." He cleared his throat. " It is nice to have someone to play with."

Alfredo nodded bashfully. " That's never happened before."

They then remembered suddenly how much time they were wasting, and what position they were both in.

" So, what do I do? I have to fight you and Bowser with my dad." He said.

Ludwig shook his head. " You don't have to fight me if I hand you the key to the next World." A golden key appeared out of thin air and hovered above his open palm. " Wouldn't that make things easier?"

Alfredo looked taken aback. " Won't you get in huge trouble, though?"

" Of course; if I go back."

The boy paused. " Don't you have to?"

Ludwig shrugged. " I suppose I should. But I won't. I've served my time; now it's my turn to do what I want. I'll go far away and learn every instrument and find a nice wife and settle down. It's time I made my own decisions." He held out the key. " Take it."

Alfredo looked sad. " Well, when you get there, will you send me a letter or something? You know where I live." He laughed a bit.

Ludwig smiled. " Sure. We'll have to do this again. You're a good musician, kid. Stick with it. And don't give up on your painting, either."

Alfredo smiled and took the key. It lit up brightly, and then went dull. The door to the next World opened up. He stuck out his hand and Ludwig shook it firmly.

" Kick my dad's ass for me, will you?" He grinned.

" I don't really have a choice." Alfredo smiled, then turned and passed through the door. A few moments later Ludwig, bags packed, passed through it as well, leaving the old fortress in silence to rest.


End file.
